Verdant preps for tidal system installation in New York’s East River

Verdant Power has assembled and integrated onto a TriFrame mount the three turbines for its tidal energy demonstration project in New York City’s East River, the marine and hydrokinetic (MHK) energy specialist said in an update last week.

Installation of the fifth-generation (Gen5) tidal turbines is planned to take place this autumn.

Verdant’s Roosevelt Island Tidal Energy (RITE) Project in the East Channel of the East River will demonstrate how green energy can be harvested from the tidal currents, which is something new for the US. The project has secured from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) the first commercial license for a tidal power plant in the country.

“Our focus is on maximizing system power performance, increasing availability and reliability, and reducing project CapEx and operating costs,” commented John T Banigan, CEO of the New York-based company.

The European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) will independently measure the performance of the tidal power plant once it is up and running.

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